Mirror, Mirror in the Well
by Mocha MintCocoa
Summary: It just starts with what seems to be an innocent request from the Christmas play's choreographer that turns out to be the most amazing Christmas present Arthur has ever received in his life. -USUK, Gakuen!AU. Related to Silver Apple.


**A/N: **...I hate LJ. That stupid site keeps saying that it failed to post my text, and it even didn't allow me to upload userpics. Anyone knows the cure for it? :(

This is set the same AU as the earlier story 'Silver Apple', the PruHun counterpart. This can be read separately, but it contains some of Silver Apple references. Didn't change much, though if you're confused with some things that are related to SA regarding this, please feel free to ask me. :3

Anyway! This time, I'd like to try to portray Snow White from the Evil Queen's side, which is never told, hahahah XD I bet this turns out crap... But one never knows before trying, yes? :D

And Sey is Seychelles, if you're not getting it. XD

Hetalia (c) Himaruya Hidekaz.

* * *

Mirror, Mirror in the Well

.

_Mirror, mirror in the well,  
who will be my soul mate, pray tell?_

* * *

Cringing as he held the script like it was shit, Arthur scrunched his thick eyebrows and threw a glare at Feliks, who was smiling so brightly. "And because," he began, "Sey lost her voice two days ago, you want me to replace for her role in the Christmas play? Next _three_ days?"

"Oh, come on, Arthur!" Feliks pleaded, his eyes shining with enthusiasm and a hint of sheepishness. "Like, I know that the student council is pretty, like, totally free now, but the others already busy with their own schedules for, like, the night of performance!" he said, still trying to convince the student council president. "You just have to read a few lines and, like, totally short act! It's not that hard!"

"Well and why should _I_?" Arthur frowned again in displeasure. As he was free at the night of the performance, instead of managing the festival like a good student council president he was, Arthur dumped the task to Kiku and Francis, took the opportunity and planned to go to the town and have a (romantic) Christmas dinner in probably one of those fancy restaurant with... his boyfriend.

It had been more than a month since that stupid love confession from Alfred, the most popular, ridiculous, and handsome lad Arthur had ever met in his teenage life. The slightly younger teen had been embarrassing him enough by declaring his love in front of the door of student council office after a week of awkwardness, in the middle of class moving, so it was not exaggerating to say that all the students had known this. The boys had shot him disapproving glares, and the girls seemed to be so envious that the so-not-attractive student body president had caught their idol's heart (which only lasted for a day before Arthur started noticing that they would squeal every time he and Alfred got close or share lunch times together). Eventually the rumours died down and Arthur could finally come back to his normal life... with a slight change.

Oh, he loved Alfred more than anyone else could ever imagine. From the very first time of his encounter with the younger teen, Arthur's heart always gave a flutter and his stomach would give a nasty upturn every time he observed him. Unfortunately, Alfred seemed not to take the same interest on him (from Arthur's point of view anyway); Arthur did not even have the courage to hope that far. But who would have thought that he finally had the chance to date his crush?

"Well," Feliks broke Arthur from his train of thoughts, "I don't mean to, like, offend you, but you totally fit the character of the Queen!" he said. "There's nobody I can totally ask for help now. You're like, my last chance!" he emphasised with teary, kicked-puppy face that he knew would work on the Brit (he had heard it from Alfred, though).

"Oh, bugger," Arthur cursed silently, slapping his hands on his eyes. "Alright, I'll do it! Just because I don't want the Christmas play ruins everything by not having one of its casts!"

"Really?" Feliks' eyes suddenly sparked with enthusiasm and joy. "This is awesome! I'll go tell the others! Please come to the rehearsal tomorrow, Arthur!" he said, already running out of Arthur's sight before he could even yell at him not to run on corridors. When he disappeared at one of the turns, Arthur sighed before looking at the bundle of papers once more, his thick eyebrows scrunched.

"Why do I agree anyway...?" he muttered and entered the student council room, his fingers began fumbling with the pages as he read the script. "..._'As the Princess grows year by year becoming a beautiful young girl, there are many men from around the Kingdom that come to propose the Princess. This grows uneasiness on the Queen's mind, setting a big doubt on her_ (this part had already been crossed and replaced with 'his'—what the hell?) _mind, wondering if someone will come to love her _(him) _too_.' What?" Arthur narrowed his eyes at the script. "This is not Snow White at all!"

"Artie?" the voice that came with the door creaking open nearly sent Arthur flying from his chair, the script shoved under the table. Arthur lifted his head just in time to spot the Alfred's golden tuft of hair, with that unmistakable cowlick that could never be slicked down no matter what he tried. "Artie? Can I come in?"

"A-Alfred! Why don't you knock before you enter, you stupid git? And my name is Arthur, no 'Artie'!" Arthur debated lamely, and he could feel his cheeks growing warm and his heart beating faster. Being together for a month didn't do much progress for both of them; Arthur still felt terribly shy at whatever gesture Alfred made, and he still refused to let Alfred even hold his hands in public. Their first kiss was not even a week ago, dammit! It was all Alfred's fault for being so perfect for Arthur's liking!

Alfred, as usual, shrugged his boyfriend's scolds off and instead walking straight in. "Ah, well... Sorry, Artie, but this is quite urgent. You know our... well, date... on Christmas day, right?"

Arthur nodded slowly, feeling an unwanted feeling of butterflies fluttering inside his stomach, tickling every nerve and made his heart beat faster at their proximity. Oh, bollocks, bollocks, bollocks! Curse Alfred, and his handsome face, baby blue eyes, and—and his fresh, masculine scent! Curse them all!

"Um... I was wondering if we probably could cancel it?" Alfred said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "We can have more dates later, your pick... But I'm going to do some errands on Christmas day. 'Liza said that Sey is sick a few days ago, and she would like me to help her on some things..."

When the taller blonde's words finally sunk in, Arthur blinked slowly at Alfred, relief washed on his entire being. Oh, he was already so afraid that suddenly Alfred changed his mind for liking Arthur and decided to break up with him. "Ah, it's... It's alright," Arthur said. "I have to run a few more works about the Christmas party, and I doubt it will be finished on time... Maybe we can reschedule it, th-the next day, maybe?"

Alfred instantly brightened. "Oh, that sounds good to me! Thanks, baby!" he winked playfully towards Arthur, to which Arthur instantly blushed scarlet. But suddenly he stopped mid-walk and turned back to Arthur to give him a slight peck on his lips.

"See you soon?" he said, smiling within the distance less than an inch away from Arthur's face. Arthur cursed silently inside, blushing deep outside. Why, of all sudden, did Alfred become this bold?

"Yeah," Arthur hesitated for a while, before adding reluctantly. "Love you."

"Love you too," Alfred gave him a last peck before going out of the office, leaving Arthur all flustered and wondering what it was all about.

.

"No, no, no! Try, like, being more like 'yourself', Arthur! Your meany, sour-faced self!" Feliks scolded Arthur, both of his hands on his waist. Arthur scowled at the instruction. Was it supposed to be a direction or an insult?

"I've done my best! You're lucky I'm agreeing to do this, you wanker!" Arthur fumed angrily, glaring at the bored-faced Gilbert across the room, but currently watching Arthur's part practice with interest. Arthur couldn't even laugh at him for being chosen as the 'princess', because he also got the second worst part of the play; the Evil 'Queen'.

"You're not!" Feliks scrunched his eyebrows in irritation, tossing his shoulder-length blonde hair back. Maybe Arthur should make a new rule about boys not allowed to have long hair. "Like, try feeling the Queen's feelings. You know, like, totally before you met Alfred, maybe?"

"Alfred is not to be dragged in this play. He'll be busy helping Elizabeta during the play, so please refrain from mentioning him," Arthur glared sharply at the Pole. "After all, I'm going to make sure that he isn't going to watch my performance." It would way be so embarrassing!

"Alright, alright, you got it," Feliks sighed tiredly. "Come on, please just, like, give it your best shot. I mean, the whole school is like, totally going to see you perform up there on the stage. You're not, like, going to ruin your 'image', right?"

"Oh, shut up. As if my image has not been ruined by agreeing to act as the Evil Queen," Arthur waved his hands and tried again the lines that he had been repeated for ages. "'_What should I do?'_" he roared and extended his hands forward, and the crews scattering nearby jumped at his unusual deep, growling voice. "_'Nobody loves me. They all _love _the princess. They all come to _propose _her,'_" he paused, taking a deep breath before concentrating once more. "_'Nobody loves me. Why? WHY?'_"

The hall suddenly went silent when Arthur directed his gaze towards where the audience would be sitting later, his green eyes wild and raged with madness as he voiced the last line with such venom it was almost terrifying. "_'I shall kill her.'_"

No one spoke for several seconds until Arthur got back to his normal, grumpy self, green eyes returned to normal. "Well?" he asked around. "Have I looked convincing enough?" When nobody responded except Feliks (who was currently gushing around saying that 'like, totally like that!'), he just frowned, shrugged, and went backstage to have a drink.

When he had disappeared behind the curtains, Antonio whispered to Francis. "Damn, he's even more convincing rather than Sey. I almost wet myself, _amigo_. Do you see that madness in his eyes?"

"_Oui, oui, mon cher_. Quite amusing, I say," Francis said, sounding a bit too amused for a person that just watched such image. "Don't forget, Arthur is our 'Devil President'. It's not weird that he had developed such terrifying trait, _non_?"

"...I guess so..." Antonio smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head before reading his manuscript again. "It sounds so terrible that now I have to play with him instead of Sey. I mean, at least Sey is not as terrifying as he is, _amigo_."

Their conversation broke when Arthur emerged from the backstage, and the rehearsal went once more before they all decided that it was all set and they just had to wait until the performance day.

.

Arthur couldn't help feeling nervous.

"Relax," Elizabeta said, glancing at Arthur with worry clouding her green eyes. "It's not terrifying, Arthur, don't be so nervous or you'll forget your lines."

"I don't know if I can do this," Arthur hissed, glancing outside once more, where the audiences were sitting and chattering as they waited for the performance to start. He could feel cold sweat trickling down behind his neck despite the air conditioner turned on. "It's too many people. I... I can't..."

"Arthur." Elizabeta's voice was deep and clear. "Look, I know it's hard for you, but you've got to do your best," she gave Arthur a light, assuring pat on his shoulder, just over the prince cloak she was wearing. Lucky for her, she was given a very 'cool' role as the Prince. Well, at least it was better rather than being the Princess like Gilbert or the Evil Queen like him. "It's the same for Gilbert as well. Just take it like you're going to give your speech in front of the school members," she smiled once again, before disappearing to the backstage when Feliks called for her.

Arthur slumped on one of the chairs provided for the crew, grasping the end of the seat in exhaustion and no ending nervousness. This was going to be his first (and the last, thank you so much) performance in front of so many people, which he tended to avoid as much as he could for except giving public speeches. Dammit, he wasn't supposed to go out of there at all! He should be now in town, sitting on a table for two with Alfred in front of him, lit slightly by candle lights, and in the end, they would be—

"The curtain will open for scene one! Everybody, please get ready!"

Oh... Arthur was starting to get really nervous right now. The first scene was mostly done behind the curtains, only presented as shadows to tell about Snow White's childhood. The king was just played by Francis as a cameo, as he wouldn't appear for the rest of the performance. But to think of it... He really _was_ agreeing with the whole thing, right?

So it was better for him to finish this play quickly and went back to the dorm, then when it was time to go home he could use it to sulk. Arthur took a deep breath, willed himself to calm down, then looked forward at the stage.

"_Once upon a time, there was a kingdom... The mighty Kingdom of Spades, which was built by His Majesty himself..._"

Arthur looked up in surprise at the sound room; that sounded _very_ much alike Sey. So... Did Feliks lie when he said Sey lost her voice? Or this was just a prank from all of them? He gritted his teeth in rage, promising himself to give the Polish teen a detention later.

"_He had a queen, the Queen he loved very much... Together they had a child, a lovely princess they named Snow White. She had the skin as white as the snow, her hair was beautiful silver, like the full moon in the sky, her eyes and lips were as red as the ripest apple... They lived happily, before one day, tragedy strike them..._"

As the first scene came to an end, Arthur was already sweating bullets even though he only had appeared behind the curtains. He was lucky that there were no dialogues, but the second scene required him to get out and he would be doing dialogues and acts like he had already practiced a few days ago.

Arthur gritted his teeth when Sey's voice was heard again, this time narrating for the ten years after the King went to the woods and gone missing. He willed himself to stay strong. _Okay, Arthur, all you have to do is sit on the throne and look all smug while barking orders to the servants. Then when Gilbert comes, grip his chin and glare at him. Easy._

He stepped into the stage as the story was narrated, flopping down on the throne and tried to look as mean as he could – the expression that made the other students often terrified of him and labelled him as the 'Devil President'; even sometimes Alfred complained about it.

Arthur suddenly felt something weighted his chest. It was true that he had been swooning over Alfred since the first time they met, but other than watching him from far when he was swarmed with the herds of his fans, Arthur had never done anything pass it.

So when Alfred confessed to him, he was just really, really happy about it. He just wouldn't think that Alfred was paying attention on him as well, seeing that they both had different schedules and they were busy with their respective responsibilities.

But when now Arthur thought about it, he was casting his own doubts; did Alfred _really_ love him? What if – what if it was just sort of prank played by the jocks? Maybe Alfred just lost a dare from his stupid, muscled friends and was forced to confess to him to make a joke. There was no way that Alfred would ever notice him—

"Arthur-san? Arthur-san!"

Arthur jolted suddenly, surprised by Kiku's voice he heard on the earpiece he was wearing along with the small microphone attached to it. The earpiece was supposed to be an aid when suddenly the actors forgot their lines or doing a wrong act. Arthur blinked twice before Kiku's voice was heard again.

"Arthur-san, do you forget your lines? Scene one has already started, Gilbert-san has sat on your feet! Please don't daydream on stage!" Kiku said, his tone panicked.

Arthur stilled his grip on the throne's armrest and gritted his teeth before looking down towards Gilbert, now already dressed with the frilly red dress and the ridiculously long, beautiful silver wig Feliks had forced towards the poor teen a few days ago. He set a glare before reaching for Gilbert's chin and jerking him, forcing the other to face him.

"Yes, my dear, lovely Snow, what is it you want?" Unconsciously, his tone sounded more malicious than usual. Arthur licked his dry lips, trying so hard not to let his hand shake in nervousness.

"I was... I was wondering, Your Majesty, that I was allowed to play in the woods, just for a little while—"

"_NO!_" It was pure act, Arthur swore, but somehow it went out harsher than he intended to. Gilbert seemed to be surprised as well, so Arthur tried to collect and calm himself down. "The woods—it's dangerous, you know, my dear Snow?" he softened his tone. "There are many... many dangerous people out there. I'm not letting you out, you hear me, hmm?"

The voices in the earpiece murmured, "That wasn't in the line...", but Arthur could care less about it. After this, scene one would be closed and there would be scene one and a half, featuring him chanting over the magic mirror on the surface of water in the well and asking the mirror whom the prince from other Kingdom fall for. Then, just before scene two started, he would summon Antonio and ordered him to kill the Princess and he wouldn't have to appear at least until scene five, where he attempted to kill the Princess.

Arthur sighed. This was going to be a very long day.

.

The last scene had already passed. So for now, Arthur could breathe his relief and sit back until the end of performance, when Elizabeta kissed Gilbert (why did it sound so wrong?), and then went out to the stage with other performers and gave the audiences a last bow before the curtains were closed. He slumped at his seat, trying to calm down his beating heart. So far, he hadn't seen Alfred anywhere in the audience (because if his idiot boyfriend was in there, he obviously would call for Arthur, no matter the time or the place...) and Arthur couldn't help but wondering if the teen was somewhere else. Alfred said that he was helping Elizabeta, but said person was here doing performance, so... where could he go?

Arthur shook his head to clear his mind just as the audience cheered when the kiss was made—Arthur couldn't help but envy both Gilbert and Elizabeta. They looked so happy together, and there were rumours that actually both of them had been crushing for each other since forever until it exploded like a volcano just a few days before the performance. At least, they both knew that they loved each other.

But that didn't matter anymore. After the closing, he most probably would be off holing himself in the dorm room he shared with Kiku. Most likely everybody would be very busy until midnight, so he got a few hours alone to calm down and thought about his relationship with Alfred over.

"_...and they lived happily ever after!_" That was the cue line. Arthur sighed and stood up from his seat before he was grabbed by Feliks and Francis so suddenly from behind, making him stumble over his own foot and almost fell down.

"H-Hey, what's this all about?" Arthur fumed, trying to struggle out of their grasps to no avail. "Let me off, Feliks! You too, frog!"

Francis shushed him down and kept dragging him when he heard Sey's voice spoke again, different from the script they had practiced together. "_...yes, the Prince and Snow White had lived happily ever after, but... what about the Queen?_"

Murmurs erupted from the audiences, but they quickly shut up as the next narration was being read. "_When he heard that Snow had married the Prince, the Queen went to the well once more, his heart clenching so painfully._"

"I am not—!" Once again, Arthur's protests died on his tongue as Feliks and Francis shoved him on the stage with the curtains already open, and the stage had already set like the castle backyards, where the well was placed.

He walked slowly towards the well, nervousness slowly clouding his mind once more. He didn't know there was extra scene, and there were nothing like this during the rehearsals. Did they make sort of mistake or...?

"Arthur-san? Please, don't panic," Arthur heard Kiku talking through the earpiece still attached on his ear. "I will narrate everything for you. Now, continue walking to the well... And stop. Yes, that's right."

Something was not right—was this a joke played by all the performers to embarrass him? But no, even so, Kiku would never be a part of it. He was Arthur's friend, and his most trusted committee member.

Arthur couldn't think anymore, but his lips moved as he heard Kiku narrating it through the earpiece. "Mirror, mirror in the well..." he mumbled, only loud enough so the microphone could catch his voice, "who will be my soulmate, pray tell?"

Of course, there wouldn't be anyone's face appearing on the surface of the water; only his was reflected on it. The well was only just a big metal bucket decorated and filled with a bit of water, so it was easy to move around and it still got the aura of 'a well' (that's what Feliks said).

"_..but nothing happened. The surface of the water didn't change... What was happening? Did the magic disappear?"_ the narration continued. "_No, it was most likely... Because the well didn't have an answer for the Queen..._"

No...

"_He would remain forever alone, just like he always be all this time..._"

No...

"_There was nothing left..._"

The surface of water was rippling – and suddenly Arthur was aware that he was crying; the tears were falling into the well and made the water echoed. He tried holding back his sobs to no avail, as it turned out to make his tears fell more. _I'm so pathetic,_ he whispered inside.

"...don't cry."

Arthur felt a pair of strong hands enveloped him from behind. From afar, he could hear the audience gasping—whether in shock or in amusement, Arthur didn't know, so he looked down further to see the person reflected on the water.

His gaze met a pair of sapphire blue eyes that had been so familiar to him.

"Please don't cry, my Queen."

"Al..." Arthur's sobs died on in his throat and he felt like his tongue was being twisted. Was this another joke? Alfred wasn't supposed to appear on the stage!

"...thur-san? Arthur-san!" Kiku's voice was heard again. "Alfred-san's role in here is to be the royal gardener, so make up a dialogue from there!"

..._what?_

"...my Queen?" Alfred's bewitching gaze was still piercing his mind.

With him still confused from what was going on, Arthur shook his head and tried to wipe his tears. "I-I'm alright," he said, the sobs still evident from his tone. "What are you doing over here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to..." he paused, "...to get to Snow's wedding?"

This was getting ridiculous. Arthur was already nervous enough when he was playing with the script earlier, and now the crew wanted him to play _without_ script? And with Alfred nonetheless?

But the smile Alfred gave him was too dazzling for him to worry for such thing. He should be worrying more about what he should do so he wouldn't make himself a total fool in front of his boyfriend!

"I'm not going."

"Why?" Arthur struggled to get out of Alfred's hold and averted his gaze away. "Doesn't everybody in the castle love Snow? They even blamed me for the King's death years ago."

Alfred chuckled. "My Queen," he said, gently approaching Arthur and held his hand. "I do love Snow. She is a lovely, sweet young lady..." he paused, turning Arthur's face so he was facing him. "But it is you that I love dearly, from the bottom of my heart. I never compared you with her, my Queen."

Arthur's eyes widened as the audience went crazy. Was it really a love confession? Or... was it simply a dialogue in a play, which would soon lose its meaning the moment they stepped out of the stage? "...you're lying," Arthur finally whispered, his tone hurt.

"My Queen, Queen Arthur," Alfred leaned forward. "I would never lie, let alone lied to you, my dearest Queen." He bent down and in a blink, his lips were on Arthur's.

For a moment there, Arthur couldn't think straight. He turned his body completely facing Alfred and laced his hands at the taller blonde's shoulders, pulling his closer and deepened the kiss. He completely forgot that they were still on stage, was seen by nearly a thousand and a half students, he forgot his pride and dignity as the cold, heartless student council president.

They broke the kiss. The American teen smiled, rested his forehead against Arthur's and whispered. "I love you, Arthur Kirkland."

"I..." Arthur hesitated, grasping those shoulders tighter and hiding his face on the broad chest. "I love you too... idiot."

And the hall broke loose.*

.

"SUCCESS!" The crew, minus Arthur and Alfred, were gathering in Gilbert's room, which were too small to hold so much people, celebrating Christmas and the success of the play together. "We really did it! You're so clever, 'Liza!"

Elizabeta smiled smugly. "Of course I am! It's not fair that only Gil that needs some push, isn't it?"

"Hey, what's that supposed t'mean?"

"Calm down, _mon ami_," Francis brought the glass to his lips and took a sip. "Well, Alfred was the one who asked us to do it. Ohonhon, I really didn't expect it went well at all."

"Alfred-san really did a good job," Kiku smiled. "Somehow, this makes me feel better that now Arthur-san is being honest to himself, and he gets the assurance that Alfred-san really loves him. I hope from now on Arthur-san will go easy on us."

"Well, it's like, totally uncool because they can't join us here. Or at least, Alfred," Feliks munched a potato crisp noisily.

They laughed. "What do you think they're doing now?"

"Well, I suppose they're having a 'romantic dinner' like Arthur-san had planned..."

"...or they're screwing each other out?"

"Ha! Nothing beats the awesomeness of going to the bar and get drunk together—oww! _Verdammit_, 'Liza! That hurts!"

Needless to say, everybody was enjoying themselves that night.

* * *

* This is supposed to be a spin-off of 'the hell breaks loose', but if you native English speakers find the term inappropriate, I'll change it back to the original one.


End file.
